Famous Photographers

Famous photographers come in all different shapes, sizes and age groups. That's the wonderful thing about photography is that anyone now days can do it. That's not the way it used to be, however.

Famous Photographer Ansel Adams' Portrait

Someone had to invent the first camera and printing process (Louis Daguerre is in the early inventor category) and others had to put the camera to good use. On these pages are the most well-known names in the history of photography.

A biography is presented concerning each of the famous photographers we cover. And of course, we've included a little humor as well.

In fact, there is a section at the end of each of the famous photographers' biographies called "The Rumor Mill" which is not factually correct in the very least and instead is intended to be funny. So, if you want to write us about the famous photographers on these pages feel free. But, if it is to correct The Rumor Mill, then please "Save the drama for your Mama".

So, let's get back to the subject of the most well-known and most famous photographers of all time. Some of these photo pros are inventors of the camera or made popular certain photographic processes. Others use the camera like an artist uses a brush (Jerry Uelsmann and Man Ray are in these categories). Still other famous photographers are more into the realism of nature and landscapes. Examples of this style are Ansel Adams and Edward Weston.

Another set of famous photographers are in fact well-known for one or more pictures that changed the world. Several of these people are photo-journalists who created picture stories (worth a thousand words) and sent them to press or video for all of us to see.

Famous Photographer Man Ray

Some of these famous photographers risked their lives during war time to document what was happening in far off lands and bring these images home to share with everyone else. Here is but a short list of these photographers including Alfred Eisenstaedt, Alfred Stieglitz, Dorothea Lange, Eddie Adams, Margaret Bourke-White and Robert Capa.

And still another class of famous photographers involves the ones who have made many pop images that have appeared on high circulation magazine covers. Annie Leibovitz may be the most well-known of this type of photography who is still living today.

So, you see that the most famous photographers throughout history are not one large homogenous group who all did the same thing. Instead, they were masters of their crafts using cameras as vehicles of their imagination or to document real life that few others had access to and they shared that access with others.

As you'll soon see from reading the biographies of the famous photographers outlined here, some were realists while others were surrealists. Some documented what they saw. Others saw themselves as artists whom used a camera to evoke certain emotional responses.

Annie Leibovitz Self-Portrait

No matter how they achieved success, the fame was due to one or more contributions they have made to society. As stated before some famous photographers have achieved this status based upon a single famous photograph that has defied time and stayed popular for many years.

Their famous photo may have defined a certain time in history, called attention to something unknown before or simply captivated the imagination of our society. So, check out these pages and see what these famous photographers have contributed to YOUR life.

The Rumor Mill

The rumor mill states that YOU are the next famous photographer. So, get your camera, get into a creative frame of mind, and get shooting!